Don't ask, don't tell

I fully support the president's decision.

— Don't ask, don't tell

Mr. President, this November marks 10 years since our Nation imposed the discriminatory law known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" on the lesbian, gay, and bisexual patriots of our Nation. During the past decade, almost 10,000 men and women have been fired from our Armed Forces simply because of their sexual orientation.

— Don't ask, don't tell

There is no evidence that wounded troops care about the sexual orientation of the flight nurse or medical technician tending to their wounds.

— Don't ask, don't tell

Reignited by the brutal slaying of a gay soldier at Ft. Campbell, Ky., the controversy over gays in the military threatens to become as combative an issue at the end of the Clinton administration as it was at the beginning. In recent weeks, the president, vice president and first lady have separately criticized the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, and Defense Secretary William S. Cohen has authorized an investigation of its enforcement.

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The day that the leadership of the military comes to me and says, 'Senator, we ought to change the policy,' then I think we ought to consider seriously changing it.

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At this moment of immense hardship for our armed services, we should not be seeking to overturn the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy.

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It is my personal belief that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do. … I cannot escape being troubled in the fact that we have in place a policy that forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. For me, personally, it comes down to integrity. Theirs as individuals and ours as an institution.

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[We must] repeal the law that denies gay and lesbian Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are. It's the right thing to do.

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Furthermore, there is no adequate remedy at law to prevent the continued violation of service members' rights or to compensate them for violation of their rights.

— Don't ask, don't tell